


It Only Hurts When I Breathe

by Jinx (jinx37kat)



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-05
Updated: 2011-03-05
Packaged: 2017-10-20 15:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinx37kat/pseuds/Jinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Holiday Prompt-A-Thon:  #8 - Danny gets hurt on the job (any level of seriousness) and tries to hide it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Only Hurts When I Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay, so I got a little pissy with Steve in Episode 04: Lanakila when he blew off Danny’s knee injury, calling it a “boo-boo”. The not-caring-nonchalance really rubbed me the wrong way, so… I did this.

Danny limped over to the waiting ambulance and sat down on the gurney inside, scooting back so his knee was stretched out before him, body angled so his right side was facing inside the vehicle.

“Hey, Jenna,” Danny sighed, partially leaning back against the side of the ambulance.

“Why am I not surprised?” Jenna quipped as she started getting her things together to give Danny an once-over. She was a cute red-headed spitfire, hair pulled back into her ever-present ponytail. She was shorter than Danny by several inches and was also one half of the EMT duo who seemed to always be called out ‘just in case’ when Five-0 requested HPD back up. She and her partner were well versed in Five-0 anatomy after the past year and a half.

Especially Danny’s.

Danny gave her a tired smile.

“Cortisone?” She asked, holding up a needle.

Danny winced. “Yeah, but after…” he lifted up his right arm and showed her a deep gash on his right side that he had been holding tight with his left hand and his right arm pressed rigid against his side.

Jenna’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, Williams, what happened?”

“I zigged when I should have zagged, ‘cause, you know,” Danny looked up at the EMT and they said together, “McGarrett couldn’t wait for back-up.” He wriggled his fingers at Jenna who threw him a towel to clean his hands of the blood.

“And your Kevlar vest…?”

“Didn’t think we needed it. We were here to interview a bunch of witnesses, not bust some punk drug dealers.”

“And did the Commander kill the guy who did this to you?”

Danny shook his head. “The Commander doesn’t know about this.”

Jenna furrowed her brows. “You mind telling me why?”

“Long convoluted story, sweetheart. You got any…?” He rubbed his hands together.

Jenna glared at him. “Sweetheart? Really? You do know I have sharp instruments at my disposal, don’t you?” She tossed him a small bottle of hand sanitizer so he could finish cleaning up his hands.

Danny gave her a cheeky grin.

“I swear, Danny,” Jenna sighed, “he’s gonna get you killed one of these days.”

“I know, right? I keep telling him that, but he never listens.”

Jenna started to help Danny remove his shirt when Steve called out from a few yards away. “Hurt your knee again, Danno?”

Danny quickly dropped his arm and shrugged his shirt back up his shoulder by the time Steve arrived at the back of the ambulance, being careful to keep his right side directed inside the ambulance so Steve couldn’t see the damage. Jenna shot Danny a concerned look, but remained silent.

“Yeah, no thanks to you, jackass!”

Steve smiled and tapped Danny on his thigh above his injured knee.

“I wouldn’t do that, now, would I Jenna?” Steve gave Jenna a blinding smile.

She looked over at Danny before grinning at Steve. “I don’t know, Commander. I see an awful lot of you guys. I patch Five-0 up more than the bad guys.”

“Steve,” McGarrett stressed good-naturedly. “When are you going to stop calling me Commander and start calling me Steve?”

“When you stop calling me Danno,” Danny interjected.

Steve grinned at his partner.

“You love it and you know it.”

“No, I really, really don’t.”

Jenna rolled her eyes at the two men.

Steve looked down at Danny. “So, you got another boo-boo, huh?”

Danny’s smile fell from his face and he sighed in resignation, though Steve took no notice.

“How long’re you gonna be out this time?” Steve asked, groaning theatrically as though he was the one put out.

“I’m not gonna be out at all, asshole. If you recall, even with my ACL, I was back to work the same day, hobbling around after you like an idiot. This,” Danny waved his left hand at his knee, “is nothing.”

“So you’re just here to what? Flirt with the EMT?” Steve smiled at Jenna.

“What if I am?” Danny replied. “She’s pretty cute!”

Jenna smacked Danny on his shoulder, causing the other man to wince slightly. If Steve noticed, he didn’t say anything. Jenna hissed an apology, having forgotten Danny’s real injury. A quick shake of Danny’s head had her covering with, “And pretty married!”

Danny’s grin concealed his grimace and he shrugged his other shoulder. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“I’m pretty cute,” Steve pouted, folding his arms over his chest, looking forlorn.

“Aw, is widdle Stevie jeawous?” Danny mocked with a grin, reaching out his left hand to tug at Steve’s shirt.

“Maybe,” Steve answered, but his crooked smile gave him away. Then, turning to Jenna, Steve asked, “Seriously, though… he gonna be out at all?”

Jenna looked at Danny, who gave her an imperceptible shake of his head. “Naw, he’ll live.”

“Good,” Steve tapped Danny’s knee, causing him to flinch.

“Asshole,” Danny muttered darkly.

Steve smiled at his partner. “You gotta be more careful, Danno. You seem to be very accident prone.”

“Yeah, I wonder why that is? I’ve got a walking, talking accident as a partner,” Danny bitched. He waved his hand in the air. “Now if you don’t mind, Jenna here was about to stab me in the knee with a needle. Ya wanna watch?”

Jenna held up a needle, though it was the needle she was going to use to numb his knife wound in order to stitch it up.

Steve took a step back and raised both hands. “Uh, no thanks.” When Steve turned to move away, his cell phone went off. Looking down, he exhaled loudly, clearly annoyed. “Yes, Governor,” he answered.

As Steve moved away, Danny quipped. “That woman has him by the short and curlies.”

“I thought that was you?” Jenna joked.

Danny looked at Jenna with a wicked grin. “Only when he lets me.”

“Gah! TMI!”

Danny pursed his lips out, making kissing noises. Jenna just laughed and smacked him lightly upside the head.

Steve returned a few moments later. “That was the Governor.”

Danny rolled his eyes. ‘Duh’ clearly written all over his face. “Really? ‘Cause after you answered the phone with ‘yes Governor’ Jenna and I thought you were talking to the President.” Danny turned to Jenna and griped. “Though with him, he could very well have been.”

Steve gave Danny a long-suffering sigh. “Your wit astounds me.”

“Me too babe.” They looked at each other a beat too long that had Jenna clearing her throat. “Ahem!”

“SO!” Danny exclaimed overly loud, flushing a bit with embarrassment from Steve’s stare. “What does la luna want?”

Steve blinked at Danny in bemusement. “Did you just purposely, and without coercion, and of your own free will, just use the Hawaiian term for ‘boss’?”

“Perhaps,” Danny replied with a grin.

“I… uh, wow!”

“There are depths to me you’ll never know, babe.”

Steve leered.

“Get a room you two!” Jenna said, breaking the mood.

“So…?” Danny asked.

Steve’s face fell in defeat. “She needs to see me ASAP.”

“Of course she does,” Danny complained. “Sundays mean nothing to criminals and politicians.”

“I’ll tell her you said that,” Steve cracked.

Danny raised an eyebrow. “You do and you’re sleeping on the couch.”

Steve’s eyes widened in mock-horror before digging in his pocket, taking out the car keys. “You guys have it covered here, right?”

Danny looked past Steve, trying to find Chin or Kono amongst the sea of HPD officers. “I gue…” Danny started to answer before he was cut off by Steve’s lips quickly pressing against his own. Steve pulled back hastily and jogged off, jingling the keys and sprinting toward the car.

“No! No! No, you bastard! Not my…”

“Thanks,” Steve yelled as he ran. “See you back at the office!”

“You asshole!” Danny screeched.

Moments later, Jenna and Danny watched the Camaro fishtail down the road.

“And there goes my car,” Danny bitched. “MY car! The car that has my name on the title. The car that I bought with my own hard-earned money. The car THAT IS MINE!” He yelled to the now Camaro-free road. He sighed. “I hate him. I hate him so, so much!”

During Danny’s rant, Jenna had lifted up Danny shirt and poked the needle in his side. “Ow!”

“Sorry,” she soothed, rubbing the pricked spot with her gloved forefinger. “’s okay,” Danny mumbled as she inspected the knife wound and started taking various instruments and medicine out from the drawers. Once she was ready, she began to clean the wound.

“You mind telling me why you didn’t want Steve to know about this?” She inquired after a few minutes.

“Are you kidding?” Danny asked incredulously. “And have him give me more crap about ‘boo-boos’ and ‘owwies’ and shit? You saw how he was! No thank you.”

“Danny, this is serious.” Danny rolled his eyes. Not so much at what Jenna was saying but at knowing that Steve wouldn’t see it that way. If Danny could walk and talk then he was fine despite blood loss, broken bones or any other ‘supposed’ injury. It was the SEAL way. A ‘way’ which the rest of Five-0 was quickly learning for themselves. Especially Danny.

“Yeah, well, so was the concussion and the bullet in my side and the dislocated wrist and the…” Danny cut himself off. “It’s like he thinks we all need to be all Super SEAL like him and brush off injuries. So, I just don’t tell him anymore.”

Jenna stopped stitching him and looked at the detective incredulously. “He didn’t know about any of that?”

Danny waved his hand around. “Yeah, he knew about the concussion and the wrist. Couldn’t hide me staggering around or the splint on my arm. But with the concussion, after a few days of headaches, he started in on me with ‘suck it up, Danno, it’s just a bump’.”

Jenna stared at Danny. “It wasn’t ‘just a bump’, Danny. You should have stayed in the hospital at least overnight.”

Danny just shrugged his left shoulder.

“And your wrist?”

“Since it wasn’t my dominant hand, he just gave me shit for not being able to properly support my gun. Dragged me off to the shooting range a few days after it happened; and kept going back until my aim was perfect.”

“A few days aft… You wouldn’t have been healed yet!”

Danny shrugged his shoulder again.

Jenna sighed and went back to work, shaking her head at the idiocy of men. “And what did he have to say about that bullet graze on your side?”

When Danny remained silent, Jenna looked up from the wound to see Danny looking everywhere but at her.

“You didn’t tell him?”

Danny remained silent.

“And he didn’t notice when you two…?” She flicked her wrist in a circular motion. Danny just shook his head. “How can he not notice a bullet hole in your side?!” Jenna exclaimed in disbelief.

“’Cause the bullet wound was before we started…” Danny mimicked Jenna, waving his hand around in a circle. “You know, making like bunnies.” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Besides, by then it was healed enough that you really couldn’t tell when it happened.”

Jenna looked like she wanted to say more, but decided against it. Heaving a heavy sigh, she continued her stitching.

After a few moments, she couldn’t help but ask, “How do you propose hiding this from him now that you two are together?”

Danny grinned. “I can be pretty inventive when I have to be.” At Jenna’s incredulous look, Danny sobered. “I’ll just stay in my apartment the next few days until it’s healed. By the time he notices, it’ll be fine, I’ll be fine; and he’ll just bitch about me not telling him instead of telling me to suck it up.”

“Good luck with that.”

Danny sighed again. “I know both options suck, but I’d rather hear him yell at me after the fact than made to feel like crap during the fact.” Jenna stared at him. “I sound like a girl, don’t I?”

She smiled. “A little.”

“Are you sure you won’t marry me?”

Jenna tugged particularly hard on an up-stitch as a reply, causing Danny to flinch as he grinned.

Danny watched Jenna finish stitching him up, silently pleased at his friend’s outrage and concern on his behalf. It had been a long time since someone cared for his well-being. He knew Steve cared, but sometimes he wondered. He knew much of Steve’s reactions regarding injuries were based on his military training; especially the SEALs. They were a tough bunch of SOBs – Steve notwithstanding. But Steve did have a capacity for caring, too. Danny had seen it… several times. It would just be nice to be on the receiving end of it once in a while. He guess he hadn’t realized how much Steve’s digs at Danny’s own expense were getting under his skin, so it was nice to tell someone about it that wouldn’t make him feel like an idiot.

Or too much of one.

Finally, Jenna taped a strip of gauze over the wound. “Done.”

Danny looked under his arm at the white cloth before grinning at the EMT. “Perfect, as always. I’ll rest up tonight and be right as rain by tomorrow.”

“I think you might need more than just a half day to rest up. It may not be all that deep, but... Besides, you should probably…”

“No,” Danny said tiredly. “I’m not going to the hospital.” He turned to face her, eyes softening. “Besides, all they’ll do there is look at the amazing work you’ve done and shoo me home.”

Jenna choked back a laugh. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

Danny grinned back. “Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

Jenna sighed and rolled her eyes. “What part of ‘I’m married’ do you not understand?”

“The ‘I’m married’ part? Besides, I’ve never heard the word ‘happily’ in there.”

Jenna smirked as she ‘accidentally’ bumped her fingers against the freshly stitched wound, causing Danny to yelp. “I appreciate the offer, but I am happily married.”

Movement out of the corner of his eye had Danny stating rather loudly. “How can you be happily married? I mean, look at what you’re married to? I can’t figure out how ‘happily’ works into…”

“Watch your words carefully, Detective,” a deep voice growled from the front of the cab. “I’d hate for all of Jenna’s hard work to be for nothing.”

Danny turned and grinned at Brian, the other half of the EMT duo and Jenna’s husband. Brian was the exact opposite of Jenna. Much taller than Steve even. It was always funny seeing Brian and Jenna standing next to each other – Brian easily a foot and a half taller than his wife; dark islander and light-skinned mainlander. But two people who couldn’t complement each other more.

Danny was sometimes secretly envious.

Okay, more than just ‘sometimes’.

“Brian!” Danny mock-exclaimed, placing his left hand over his chest as though surprised by Brian’s presence. “I didn’t see you there, buddy!” He reached out his right fist, wincing a bit as Brian’s knuckles collided with his.

“Liar,” Brian smiled. “How many times do I have to tell you you can’t have my wife?”

“I’m afraid it will never sink in. Brain damage from all those concussions, ya know.”

Brian’s smile faltered. “Did you hit your head?” He asked as he crawled from the passenger’s side of the cab to the back of the ambulance to join Danny and Jenna.

Danny shook his head. “Not this time.”

Brian looked at Jenna for confirmation, knowing from past experience not to completely trust the detective.

“He’s telling the truth,” Jenna confirmed. “Just a twisted knee and a knife slash.”

Brian inspected Danny’s side before smiling up at Danny. “Excellent work, as usual.”

Jenna looked up at Brian adorningly. “Thanks, hon.”

“Ugh,” Danny groaned, clutching his chest. “Too. Sappy. For me. Going. Into. Diabetic. Shock!”

The two EMTs looked at Danny and gave him twin shark-like grins. “Just for that…” Jenna said before plunging a needle into Danny’s knee.

Danny howled, sitting up straight at the shock of pain before sagging back against the wall once the lidocaine Jenna put in the cortisone started working its magic. He knew from experience that in a few hours, once the lidocaine wore off, he would experience the dreaded ‘cortisone flare’ which would make this moment look like a walk in the park. But, he also knew a few days of rest and ice, if he could manage it considering Steve ‘Ninja SEAL’ McGarrett was his partner, would fix everything just fine.

“I hate you,” Danny hissed before the drugs started in his system. “Ooooh. But I love you, too,” he said once the pain started to recede. He turned his head at them. “Marry me.”

They laughed. “Which one?” Brian asked.

“Both of you.”

They all cracked up for a few more minutes before Danny started sliding off the stretcher, trying to get out.

Brian reached out to steady him and make sure he was on his feet.

“Time for all good detectives to earn their pay,” Danny stated as he stood up.

When he looked up, he noticed that there were only a few blue and whites left on the scene.

“Or not,” he muttered to himself when he realized that not only had Steve taken off (in his car), but Chin and Kono had left as well. “Great.” He sagged back until he sat on the stair of the ambulance. “Just fucking great.”

The earlier jovial camaraderie had vanished as Brian and Jenna looked at each other and then down at their friend.

“You want us to give you a lift back to the hospital?” Jenna asked quietly as she moved to sit down next to Danny.

Danny gave her a half smile that didn’t even come close to reaching his eyes. “Naw, I need to get back to HQ and start in on the paperwork.”

“Can’t that wait until tomorrow?” Brian asked from behind them.

Danny shrugged one shoulder. “May as well do it now. I don’t have anything else to do the rest of the day.”

“You have to rest, Danny,” Jenna said. “That’s what you have to do.”

Danny just shrugged.

“You want us to give you a ride back?”

Danny looked up at Brian with dull eyes. “Won’t you get in trouble for that?”

Jenna patted Danny’s left knee and gave him a smile. “Not if we don’t tell them.”

Brian squeezed Danny’s shoulder. “C’mon. Hop in. One chauffeured ride to Five-0 headquarters coming up!” Brian turned to make his way to the front of the cab, sliding into the driver’s seat as Jenna took the passenger’s.

Danny lay down on the gurney in the back and stared at the ceiling. “Thanks, guys.”

 

Danny waved as the ambulance pulled away from the curb outside Five-0’s HQ. He hobbled his way up the stairs to find a deserted office. He thought Steve would have been back by now, but… his meeting with the Governor must have taken longer than expected.

Who the hell demands meetings on Sundays? Danny complained silently. He could understand the cousins not being here. They knew paperwork could wait until Monday. Steve’s told them often enough. He was pretty sure they were at North Shore already.

So it would just be Danny and his sore side, his sore knee and a stack of paperwork as company for the next few hours until Steve came around to pick him up.

Groaning, Danny made his way to his office to start the long process of wrapping up the paperwork on today’s unexpected bust.

 

Several hours later, Danny scrubbed his eyes and finally turned off the computer. It was close to eleven o’clock and he was just finishing up on the reports for the day. He moaned as he stood, stretching his arms over his head, feeling his back pop. His knee was killing him and the stretch pulled on the stitches in his side.

He glanced at the clock and realized that he hadn’t seen nor heard from Steve once since the bust. Either the meeting with the Governor was just that long, or his absent-minded partner forgot to come pick him up.

He went with the latter.

Danny decided to call Steve at home and wake his sorry ass up, providing that was where he was, but he got voice mail instead. Deciding he was just too tired and pissed off to deal with finding his wayward partner at the moment, Danny shut off the lights and slowly made his way downstairs, asking a few bored looking officers for a ride to his apartment. Even though he had planned on going to his own apartment tonight (and subsequent nights until he was sufficiently healed); he figured not waking up in Steve’s bed in the morning would be a not-so-subtle hint that Steve had screwed up – it was Danny’s passive aggressive way of putting Steve on the couch without actually putting him on the couch.

Once home, he carefully stripped out of his clothing, throwing his ruined shirt in the trash before crashing face first into the unmade bed.

He probably would have slept until morning if he had had the chance, but a dull pain in his side woke him up around three in the morning. He groaned as he rolled over and realized through the thick fog in his head that his apartment felt like a sauna. He dragged himself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom. After relieving himself, he went to lift his arm to check the knife wound and found he could barely lift his shoulder. Noticing the sweat over his face, coupled with the coolness of his apartment, he knew immediately he had an infection.

Fucking great!

He debated whether to call Steve but remembered at the last minute that he was still pissed at his partner for forgetting him at the office. Plus he was in no mood to listen to Steve rag on him for not telling him about the knife wound in the first place. This was not a suck-it-up moment and he didn’t want to listen to Steve tell him that it was. He slowly got dressed and called a cab instead.

The ride to the hospital was excruciating, which told him the infection was worse than initially expected. He staggered to the desk in the emergency room and would have fallen on his face had a pair of strong arms not grabbed him in time.

“Danny!” Brian exclaimed, holding the detective under the arms and guiding him to a chair.

“Hey, Bri,” Danny gasped as he sat. “Tell your wife I no longer want to marry her.”

Brian grimaced a smile. “You’re burning up, man. What…” he gently lifted Danny’s tee shirt and frowned. “Shit!” He gathered Danny back up and led him down the hallway. “I think Doctor Geer just got off duty. Let me see if I can’t catch him or find Doctor Lin.”

Brian led Danny to a cordoned off bed behind a curtain and gently laid him down.

Danny lay on his left side and squeezed his eyes in pain. He should have listened to Jenna and Brian and came here yesterday. He was an idiot. What’s new?

He must have drifted off because the next thing he knew, his shirt was off, his pants were off, he was dressed in one of those stupid hospital gowns and he was in a private room with Doctor Lin leaning over him.

“Welcome back, Detective,” Doctor Lin said.

“Hey, doc,” Danny replied, lifting up a hand. He noticed an IV line taped to the back. “How long?”

“A few hours,” the doctor answered, knowing what Danny was asking. “That’s quite a nasty infection you’ve got there. It’s a good thing you came in when you did.”

“You can’t trust criminals anymore,” Danny answered tiredly. “Can’t even trust them to keep their weapons clean.”

The doctor chuckled. “We’re treating you with some antibiotics. You should be out of here in a few hours.”

Danny sighed and dropped his head back down on the pillows. “Great. Just in time to go to work.”

“Well,” the doctor hedged. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Danny eyed him. “You should probably rest for a few days all things considered.”

“Would that I could, doc. Would that I could.” Danny closed his eyes and was asleep before he’d finished the last word.

Doctor Lin shook his head. For the life of him, he would never understand the members of Five-0. Stubborn, the lot of them. He made one last adjustment to the IV before leaving the room.

 

Steve burst through the doors of HQ with a cup of coffee in each hand and a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Somebody got lucky,” Kono muttered to her cousin.

“Ya think?” Chin replied, rolling his eyes.

Steve purposefully ignored them and barreled into Danny’s office. He came out a second later with a frown. “Anyone seen Danny?”

Chin and Kono looked at each other questioningly. “O-kay, so someone didn’t get lucky?” Kono retracted.

Chin shook his head. “Guess not.”

“Danny not here yet?” Steve asked.

“Uh, usually he’s with you?” Kono answered with a question.

“I got a call from the Governor just as we were wrapping up at the bust yesterday. I left him on the scene to finish up.”

“What?!” Kono paled as she turned to look at Chin. “We saw the Camaro leave yesterday, so we assumed he was with you.”

Steve shook his head.

Kono sagged in her chair. “Oh man.”

Sudden understanding enveloped the room, but Steve asked anyway. “You left him on scene?” Chin and Kono couldn’t miss the slight accusatory undertone.

Before Kono could explode, Chin reminded. “We thought he was with you.”

“We are in so much in trouble,” Kono muttered, dropping her chin to her chest. Danny’s rants could be entertaining to say the least, but when they were directed at you (and the rants were justified – such as being left behind at a bust)… there was just going to be no enjoyment out of a Williams rant this time… not for anyone.

The room fell into silence as each team member contemplated their Danny-Fate.

It was Chin, bless his Zen little heart, who spoke up first. “Um…” All eyes turned to him, waiting for his words of wisdom. After a moment, Chin sighed, “I got nothing.”

Steve sagged in a nearby chair, coffees still clutched tightly in his hands.

Finally, Steve muttered, “I told him before I left that I would come get him after the meeting was over. Unfortunately, the meeting with Jameson went longer than I thought. So, I went straight home after.”

“And you didn’t bother to call him?” Kono asked incredulously.

“I texted him during the meeting to let him know that I was running late,” Steve explained.

“But you didn’t call him?” Kono repeated.

“It was really late when we got done. Well past midnight. I figured he just went home. I texted,” Steve reiterated petulantly as though that was explanation enough.

“And the fact that he wasn’t at your house when you got home wasn’t a red flag for you?”

Steve frowned. “Well, no, not really. Danny doesn’t always stay over, ya know!”

Kono rolled her eyes. Men were stupid. “Okay. So. If Danny wasn’t at your house last night then he went to his apartment, right?” At Steve’s silent nod, Kono continued. “And if he is at his apartment…?”

Steve continued to look at her blankly.

“How did you get here this morning?!” Kono practically barked.

Steve’s eyebrows furrowed. “I drove, of course.”

Kono looked about ready to leap across the table, take out her gun and shoot her boss. Chin reached out a hand to steady his cousin while lifting an eyebrow. “And what vehicle did you drive into work this morning?” Chin’s voice was calm, as though speaking to a very slow child (or one very stupid Navy SEAL).

When the light finally dawned, Steve paled. “Crap!” He slapped the coffees down on the comm. table, not paying attention when some liquid sloshed from the small holes in the lids, and pulled out his cell phone, dialing his partner.

Chin immediately grabbed the coffees and glared at his boss. “Not the table, brah!” He set them down on a side table before returning to work, glowering at his now snickering cousin.

“Damn,” Steve grumbled as he hung up. “He’s not answering.”

“Can you blame him?” Kono muttered darkly. When Steve glared at her, she continued, “What?! He’s probably pissed. I know I would be. You leave him on site.” Kono waved her hand around to stop Steve from speaking. “Yeah, yeah, I know, so did we, but that’s not the point. You took his car for your booty call with the Governor, boss. That’s cold.” Kono snickered at her own joke as she tossed a folder on the table, inadvertently covering what Chin was looking at.

“Damn it,” Chin groused, sliding the folder back towards Kono, who gave him a Cheshire grin.

“It wasn’t a booty call,” Steve complained. “It was a meeting!”

“Mmm-hmm.” Kono’s disbelief hummed quietly through the room.

“It was!”

Kono lifted an eyebrow. “Dog house,” she sing-songed under her breath.

Steve frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kono shook her head sadly. “It means, boss, that someone is gonna be sleeping on the couch for awhile.”

Chin nodded his agreement.

Steve glared at them both and snagged the coffees as he made his way to his office. He had a feeling he would need both cups of caffeine once Danny arrived (if he arrived).

 

Two hours passed and there had been no Danny bursting through his door to yell at Steve. Steve came out of his office and checked Danny’s before looking for his other teammates.

“Anyone seen Danny yet?”

Kono frowned when she realized how much time had passed. “No.”

Chin looked up from the monitor with unease. “He hasn’t called?”

Steve frowned. “No.” He took out his cell and tried his partner again. When the phone went to voice mail for the second time that morning, he became worried. “Damn it. No answer. I’m gonna go to his apartment and see if he’s there.”

“You want us to come with?” Kono asked, concern coloring her voice.

Steve shook his head. “No. Stay here in case he comes in. I’ll call you once I get to his place.”

“Okay,” Chin answered, shooting his cousin a troubled glance.

 

Steve continued to call Danny as he made his way through Honolulu traffic, arriving at Danny’s apartment in record time. He skidded to a halt outside his building and ran up the walk to the front door. He banged on the door several times, yelling his partner’s name before using the key Danny had given him months ago to unlock the door, sparing a thought as to why Danny still kept this dump when he practically lived with Steve now.

“Danny?” Steve said as he entered, looking around for any signs of foul-play. He checked the kitchen and bathroom before coming back out to the living room. The bed was unmade, but there was no sign of his partner. He pulled out his phone and began dialing the office when a small splash of color on the sheets grabbed his attention.

Steve lowered the phone as he walked over to the bed, yanking the sheets down off the mattress. There was a dollar bill sized blood stain on a pillow in the middle of the bed. He paled at the implication and immediately brought the phone up and dialed Chin.

“Steve?” Chin answered instantaneously.

“Chin. Danny’s not here, but there’s blood on the bed. Check the…”

“Already on it,” Chin answered, fingers flying over the comm. table.

After a few seconds, which had Steve pacing like a caged tiger in the small confines of Danny’s apartment, Chin’s voice came back. “Danny’s at Queen’s Medical. Checked in early this morning. We’ll meet you there.”

Steve hung up and rushed to the car, fear fueling his speed to get to his partner.

 

By the time Steve reached the hospital, Chin and Kono were just entering the building.

“Chin! Kono!” Steve yelled, catching up with them.

“What happened?” Chin asked as the three Five-0 members stalked up to the admissions desk.

“There was blood on the bed,” Steve answered absently as they reached the desk. “Detective Danny Williams.”

The nurse checked her computer. “I’m sorry. Detective Williams checked out thirty minutes ago.”

Steve turned to the cousins. “Great!” He frowned as he pulled out his phone. He dialed Danny’s number.

“Where is everyone?” Danny snapped as he answered his phone.

“Danny! Where the hell are you?” Steve barked and received a glare from the nurse behind the desk. Steve waved her off, but started out of the hospital, Chin and Kono at his heels.

“I’m at work! You know, the place where one goes during the week days to earn money to live,” Danny answered. “Where the hell else would I be?!”

“Oh, I don’t know. At the hospital?!” Steve snarked back, panic giving away to anger. He tilted the mouthpiece away from his face. “Danny’s at HQ. I’ll see you there.” Chin and Kono nodded and left, knowing that the phone conversation between the two partners was just the beginning of an epic argument that was sure to last throughout the day, keeping the cousins amused for several hours.

“Hospital?” Danny’s voice asked softly through the phone. “Why…”

Steve interrupted him. “You didn’t come in and we got worried. I went to your box and found blood on the sheets.”

Steve folded himself into the Camaro and gunned the engine angrily, making his way back to HQ, phone still attached to his ear.

“My ‘box’?” Danny repeated mock-sadly. “Why do you say such mean and hateful things about my living arrangements? I’ll have you know that ‘box’…”

”Danny!”

Danny sighed. “It was a stupid nose bleed, you moron.”

“And you went to the hospital for that?”

“You do when it won’t stop bleeding! It’d be pretty embarrassing to die from a bloody nose instead of the Death By McGarrett that I’ve been insinuating since the day we met. I mean…”

“Danny…” Steve warned.

“Steve…” Danny mimicked. Sighing, he relented, “Steve, I’m fine. Really. And you’ll soon find out once you GET BACK TO THE FUCKING OFFICE!” Danny yelled.

“This is not over, Danno,” Steve snapped as he hung up, throwing his phone into the passenger’s seat. He swerved irritably around a slow moving dark blue mini-van, causing the driver of the van to honk their horn. Steve reached out to flip them off before realizing it was Chin.

“Sorry,” Steve mouthed, waving his hand and grinning unrepentantly.

In the van, Kono gestured her hands for Chin to drive faster. “Hurry, Cuz! There’s gonna be a fight and I wanna watch.”

Chin smiled and pushed his foot down a little further on the gas, not really trying to keep up with the Camaro, but not too far behind either.

 

Steve practically skidded into the parking spot and sprinted up the stairs to Five-0’s command center.

He slammed into Danny’s office, causing the other man to jerk up from his computer and slowly turn around in his chair to face his partner.

“Steven?” Danny asked in a pacifying tone, trying to calm the other man before he went off.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, ignoring the name and tone altogether.

Danny rolled his eyes. “I am fine, dear.” He tipped his head back, pointing to his face. “Nose bleed, gone.” He gestured down towards the floor. “Knee, good. Well,” he amended when it gave him a twinge. “Mostly good.”

Steve stood in front of Danny’s desk in his interrogation stance: legs a few feet apart, arms crossed menacingly over his chest, scowl firmly in place. All of which was not intimidating in the least to Danny, who was trying his damnedest to not laugh at Steve.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Steve sniped.

“Uh, because it was three o’clock in the morning?” The ‘duh’ was implied. The ‘duh’ was always implied when speaking to Steve when he was in a snit.

“I would have come to get you.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Oh really? Considering how you conveniently forgot to pick me up last night, yes, I’m sure you would have dropped everything to come get me. In the middle of the night. For a nose bleed. Would you have even answered the phone?” Danny sat up and glowered at Steve.

“I texted,” Steve muttered under his breath as his entire body postured began to sag under Danny’s penetrating glare.

“You texted,” Danny repeated.

“I texted,” Steve said again, dropping his arms. “Last night. During the meeting. To tell you that I was running late and that you should just…”

“You texted?” Danny took out his phone and opened his message app. Flipping his phone around so that Steve can see the window. “Nope, no text here.”

Steve leaned forward and stared at the empty screen.

“But, I…” Steve opened his phone and clicked on the message app. There, sitting in the window, still waiting to be sent was a text to “Danno”. Steve turned scarlet, “…um…” and pressed the button.

Within a second, a ‘ping’ was heard in the room as Danny’s phone alerted him to an incoming text.

Danny glared at the text as he read it and then turned to look incredulously at his partner. “Oh, you mean, THIS TEXT?!”

“Yes,” Steve mumbled under his breath as he inconspicuously slipped his phone in a pocket of his cargos.

Danny looked down at his phone and back up to Steve. “This text. The one that just arrived this very second. Telling me that… oh! Wait! That you are ‘running late and I shouldn’t wait for you.’ Would this be the text that you are referring to, Steven? Hmm? Because, for your information, just in case it escaped your notice, I didn’t receive this text last night. I received this text two fucking seconds ago!”

Danny reached out his hand. “Gimme your phone.”

“Huh?” Steve replied intelligently.

“Give. Me. Your. Phone.” Danny reiterated slowly.

Steve fished his phone from his pocket and tentatively slid it across the desk towards Danny.

Danny pressed a few buttons and held Steve’s phone to his ear. Suddenly his own phone started ringing and he pressed a button before holding his phone to his other ear. “Huh. Imaging that,” Danny stated as he brought both phones away from his head, disconnecting both lines. “These devices can be used for actual verbal communication. The kind of communication that would have alerted me by auditory explanation,” Danny gestured to his ears, “that you would not be available to assist me with my transportation needs from my work place to my place of residence. Instead, you thought the written word would be sufficient. And,” Danny held out his palms, stopping Steve as he was about to respond. “AND, while in many instances you would be correct in your assumption that a text would be satisfactory, this would not be one of those cases.”

Danny glared at Steve for several moments before tossing both phones on his desk. The two men watched them slide across the wood, almost falling off on the other side. Steve caught his just before it teetered off the edge.

“Danny, I…”

Danny leaned back in his chair. “You know what, Steve. Don’t.”

“I was with the Governor until after midnight last night.”

Danny lifted an eyebrow, silently saying ‘so?’.

“I thought you would have gone home by then.” There was a silent beat before Steve continued. “Because, um, you know, I sent you that text.”

Danny leaned forward, casually crossing his arms on the desk. There was nothing casual about him, though, and Steve noticed. “Okay. Just for the sake of argument that you thought I had received your text, you know, LAST NIGHT, when it was supposedly sent and not one second ago when it was actually sent. Just for the sake of argument, how would I have gotten home, Steven? Hmm? Someone, who was not me, had my car. So, Steve, just how, pray tell, would I have gotten home? Hmm? Levitated? Beamed? Think happy thoughts?”

“A cab?” Steve supplied helpfully.

Danny glowered. “A cab.”

“Seems reasonable,” Steve stated, clearly not noticing that Danny was close to truly levitating over the desk to kill him.

Danny inhaled a calming breath. It did nothing for him. He spared a thought for counting to ten but realized ten was a stupid number when dealing with McGarrett. Hell! A hundred would be a stupid number. There was probably no number in human existence that would be high enough. After another breath, Danny replied, “Yes, Steve, that would be reasonable had I not been sitting around waiting for my boy… boss to come get me like he said he would. It would also be reasonable had I actually received said text that was supposedly sent to me last night. It would also be reasonable had I not been so UNREASONABLY PISSED OFF AT YOU LAST NIGHT!”

“I didn’t think,” Steve answered quietly.

“Clearly,” Danny glowered.

The two men stared at each other: Danny angry and Steve subdued.

“So,” Danny started, making Steve flinch. “When you didn’t see me at your house when you got home you thought…? What.”

Steve looked down at his feet like a five year old being scolded by his parents. “I thought you went back to your apartment.”

“And why, after all this time, would I have gone there when I haven’t been there all week? Practically all month?” He, of course, left out the fact that he had had no intention in going to Steve’s house last night anyway, since he didn’t want Steve to know about his injury.

Steve mumbled his reply, which Danny heard, but wanted Steve to say it again louder.

“I’m sorry, what was that? This time for the whole class to hear.”

Steve glowered at Danny. “I said, ‘I don’t know’.”

Danny leaned back in his chair. “You don’t know?”

“No, Daniel, I don’t know. I just figured you went back to your apartment to lick your wounds. It’s where you usually go when you’re hurt or tired or pissed off.”

Danny raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t noticed that particular pattern. And he called himself a detective. He was slipping. It also kind of made him a bit angry. If Steve knew that’s what he did when he was hurting, even if it was just is knee, why didn’t his partner come looking for him?

He opened his mouth to express just that when he quickly snapped his mouth shut. Suddenly, he didn’t want to know. Maybe this thing between them wasn’t as important to Steve as it had become to Danny. Maybe Danny had become the Five-0 equivalent to Lieutenant Friends-With-Benefits Rollins. Danny’s chest tightened. Maybe that was the reason Steve took such a cavalier attitude with Danny’s health… he wasn’t as invested in this, whatever, thing, (relationship?), as Danny was.

If that was the case, Danny just didn’t want to know. Ignorance is bliss and all that crap.

“Okay,” Danny said instead with an internal sigh.

Steve crooked a disbelieving eyebrow. “Okay?”

Danny sighed out loud this time and sagged into his chair. “Yeah, ‘okay’.”

Finally, Steve relaxed and flung himself into the chair in front of Danny’s desk. “I was worried,” he said petulantly, arms over his chest again, but this time with a hint of bottom lip sticking out.

“Why?” Danny asked genuinely curious.

“’Why’? Why was I worried?”

Danny nodded.

“‘Cause there was blood on your bed and you were missing.”

“There wasn’t that much blood,” Danny countered.

“Maybe not, but you were missing as far as we were concerned. Can’t be too careful in our line of work.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Danny agreed, though silently he was a bit saddened. The look in Steve’s eyes had made Danny think that it wasn’t just concern for a teammate; maybe it was concern for someone who meant much, much more. However, Steve’s words made it clear he was merely expressing concern for a colleague, nothing more.

Covering his tumultuous thoughts and deciding to deal with them later, Danny sat forward in his chair and folded his arms across the desk, saying what was expected of him. “Thank you.”

Apparently Danny’s acquiescence to the situation wiped the slate clean insofar as Steve was concerned because after a few moments of staring at each other, Steve stood up and came around to Danny’s side of the desk. He smirked down at his partner before wrapping his hand around Danny’s tie and tugging up.

Danny looked up at Steve. “Have words failed you again, Cro-Magnon man?”

Steve nodded and pulled harder.

Danny’s eyebrow shot up and he gingerly stood up unable to keep the grimace from his face. Steve frowned. “Danny?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Cortisone shot,” was the explanation before Danny leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly against Steve’s.

Steve quickly took possession of Danny’s lips, leaning in and pressing harder, nipping Danny’s bottom lip with his teeth. Danny sank into the kiss, allowing Steve’s tongue entrance and feasting hungrily.

Danny quickly dismissed his earlier thoughts and gave himself up to the feeling of Steve in his arms.

If this was all he could have, he would take it. It would just have to be enough.

Strong arms wrapped around Danny’s middle and he hissed as Steve’s forearm pressed against the knife wound. Steve started to pull back when Danny mumbled, “’s okay,” into his mouth, and Steve pressed back in, possessing the kiss like it was their last.

A few minutes later, a female voice broke the mood. “Ah man! We missed the fight!”

The two men turned to see Kono grinning at them from the doorway. Chin grabbed his cousin and ushered her down the hall, shaking his head in exasperation. “Wait!” They heard Kono exclaim. “This is good, too! This is even better! Chin! C’mon, Cuz, please?!”

Steve and Danny turned back to each other and grinned. Leaning in again, Steve took control of Danny’s lips gently, kissing for a few more moments before reluctantly pulling away.

Taking a step back, Steve said jovially, tapping Danny’s nose, “Now that your owwies are all better, we’ve got paperwork to get to.”

Danny’s good mood vanished in an instant and he sagged in resignation. He quickly sat back down and turned his chair, back to Steve, facing his computer. “You got it, boss.”

His clipped tone caused Steve’s steps to falter a bit as he was exiting Danny’s office, but he brushed it off quickly and returned to his own office.

Once his door was closed, Danny continued to stare at the form on his computer screen. He was seriously getting pissed off with Steve’s inconsiderate attitude with regards to injuries.

First there was the ‘boo-boo’ remark the first time Danny injured his knee. Hell! Steve barely even mentioned the gunshot Danny took to his arm when they first met. He didn’t bother apologizing until Danny read him the riot act. And since then, it had been the same damn thing over and over: Steve would brush off Danny’s wounds as ‘boo-boos’ and ‘owwies’ and telling him to ‘suck it up’, ‘get over it’, ‘you’re fine’ and variations in between. Frankly, Danny was getting sick of it. But there really wasn’t anything he could do about it. If Danny even thought about bringing it up to Steve, it would just add on to more mockery and ridicule.

No thank you!

It wasn’t like Danny couldn’t hold his own against Steve’s brand of teasing. They both let insults fly with regularity. It was when the joking turned personal that it wasn’t funny anymore. And there really wasn’t anything funny about being hurt. Sure, giving each other crap after the injury was healed was one thing… but after it just happened? When you’re still in pain? Not so much.

And this morning was really confusing Danny. Steve seemed really concerned and worried over Danny’s lie of a nose bleed. And could that have been the dumbest excuse in the history of excuses? He couldn’t have come up with something more clever? More believable? Danny shook his head. He was a great detective. Not so much on the great actor.

But, anyway… Steve got all worried about a stupid nose bleed, bogus lie, before reverting to type and brushing it off with a tap and another ‘owwie’ remark. It was no wonder Danny hadn’t told him about the real reason he went to the hospital. The knife wound probably would have gotten the ‘suck it up, Danno’ speech. And Danny just wasn’t in the mood.

He knew he was probably being overly sensitive to the whole situation, but right now, he didn’t give a fuck. He was tired and he hurt and he was confused and he was pissed off. And, no, he wasn’t acting like a girl, so fuck off!

He closed out of the form page on his screen and opened up a random HPD file. Since he had completed his paperwork last night and didn’t have any outstanding paperwork for any other cases, he decided to review some old case files to keep his mind off his chaotic thoughts about Steve.

 

Just before lunch, Steve barged into Danny’s office again.

Sighing, Danny turned around and put his most inquisitive face on. “Yes, Steven?”

Steve was standing just inside the office with a stack of papers in his hands. “What is this?”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know.” He put his fingertips to his temple and closed his eyes as though thinking very hard. “The spirits tell me… Wait! Don’t tell me! I believe you are holding, in your hands, a pile of paper.” He opened his eyes. “Am I right?”

Steve scowled. “I know what it is,” he growled. “What I want to know is how did you get all this done already?”

Danny nodded, now knowing what Steve held. “You’re just now finding that?” Danny asked in irritation.

“I was working on other stuff,” Steve defended.

“Uh-huh.”

“I was!” Steve sputtered and regrouped. “Answer the question, Danno. When did you do this?”

“Last night after Brian and Jenna dropped me off.”

Steve frowned. “You came in after the bust and did paperwork?”

“Yeah, so?”

It was clear Steve was unnerved with the answer.

“What’s the big deal, Steve? You know I like to get everything down as soon as possible. More fresh in my head that way. Besides, since you so conveniently forgot to pick me up, I had some time on my hands to get stuff done.”

“But…” Steve waved the hand with the papers in a sweeping gesture.

“Oh, and by the way, you should thank Saenz and Harada for doing your job last night, too.”

Steve stared blankly at him.

“You know, taking me home. As opposed to me being ‘reasonable’ and taking a cab.”

“Danny, I…”

Danny waved him off. “Forget it. So…” Danny lifted a corner of his mouth in a smirk. “Having fun doing last night’s paperwork this morning? I’m sure Chin and Kono are having just as much fun. Sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”

Steve glared at his partner and stalked out of the door. He was back in his own office before the gravity of what Danny just said penetrated his brain and he remembered why Danny’s finished paperwork bothered him so much.

He was really feeling guilty over taking off early from the bust. Granted he had no choice in the matter. Unfortunately, when the Governor called, he had to jump. But, he took Danny’s car, for god’s sake, left his best friend to find his own way back to headquarters. He had thought that Chin or Kono would have given him a lift, but apparently they hadn’t. Danny had gotten a ride from the EMTs.

Unfortunately, the fact remained that Danny shouldn’t have had to rely on anyone else for a simple ride back to HQ. Regardless of what the Governor needed, she could have waited until Steve dropped his partner off at the office. If nothing else, he could have made sure Chin and Kono knew Danny needed the lift instead of just assuming. Hell! Steve didn’t even bother waiting around to make sure Danny was okay! Sure he’d just sprained his knee again, but… He didn’t have to act like a jerk about it either. Danny had been hurt and the least he could have done is…

But that was the problem. Danny plus hurt does not equal anything good. Danny plus hurt equals Steve not knowing how to deal properly. It was his way, the only way he could cope with a hurt Danny. If he didn’t act like an injury was a big deal, then it wasn’t a big deal; and he could continue to go out and risk his and Danny’s life on a daily basis without the paralyzing fear that he could lose Danny at any moment. It was the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand. It was stupid, but it worked for him. And would continue to work until it didn’t.

A scenario he refused to think about.

Steve sighed and began signing off on the reports, barely reading what Danny had written. It was a classic Detective Williams report. It would be detailed to a fault, but without the snarky comments Danny reserved for his rants at Steve. No, it would be precise and perfect, much like the man himself.

Steve’s stomach fluttered at the images that brought and he had to close his eyes to will those thoughts and feelings down. Now was not the time, now was not the time, now was not the time. A familiar mantra that he was spending a horrendous amount of time repeating in the last several months.

Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus on the guilt. That he could do. He was very good at that.

To recap: He had left his injured partner, though Danny hadn’t been all that injured with just a twisted knee, but injured all the same. He had left his injured partner at the scene of a bust. And even though the Governor had called an emergency meeting, he could have, should have, waited to give Danny a lift back home, if not to HQ before abandoning him. Or, at the very least, made sure Chin and Kono knew Danny needed a ride.

And, not only had he left his partner, but he had taken his partner’s car; truly stranding him. He hadn’t picked Danny up from HQ last night like he had promised (text be damned); and hadn’t bothered checking to make sure his partner had got home okay either (phones can be used for things other than texting as painfully pointed out by Danny). Then, to top it all off, like icing on a gigantic fucked up cake, he’d forgotten to swing by Danny’s apartment to pick him up this morning. Had he done so, he would have known Danny was at the hospital almost two hours sooner than he’d found out.

Signing the last report, Steve tossed it into his outbox and sat back in his chair.

He was a class A fuck up. Shit!

 

Fortunately, Monday afternoon brooding didn’t last long for either Steve or Danny because three hours later, the male members of Five-0 found themselves outflanked and cornered in an abandoned warehouse (and why the hell did it always have to be a warehouse all the fucking time?).

Danny was pinned behind a couch, bullets flying all around. Chin was confined behind a table which was slowly losing its protective shield as wood continued to be chipped away with the spray of bullets. Steve was crouched behind a nice metal box twice his size. Only Kono had managed to get out and was, hopefully, sneaking around back for an ambush.

God bless the rookie!

Chin’s cover was becoming worrisome, so Danny gestured over to him, silently telling him to run at his signal.

Suddenly Danny jumped up and began firing in earnest, hoping he was providing enough cover for Chin to make his way over to him. Danny might be behind a lowly couch, but it was better cover than what Chin was using.

Chin fired along with Danny and Steve, who had seen what his teammates were planning, and made it over to Danny without a scratch. Now if they could get over to Steve, they would have perfect cover and, hopefully be okay until Kono got in position.

Danny looked over at his partner, bullets still whizzing by. He raised his eyebrows in silent question, and Steve shook his head that now was not the right time.

After a few more minutes and when it sounded as though the bullets were coming at them with less ferocity, Steve motioned to Chin and Danny. Chin stepped out first, followed closely by Danny and they ran and fired their way over to Steve and the metal box. Danny saw Chin flinch and caught up to him, putting himself slightly between the gunfire and Chin before they secured themselves out of harms way.

Steve grabbed Danny and practically slammed him right side first into their metal cover. “What the fuck was that?” Steve demanded angrily.

Danny hissed in pain as his knife wound connected with the box. He doubled over in pain for a split second before he schooled his features and glared up at his partner, slowly standing and trying not to show how winded he was. He broke Steve’s tight hold from his bicep and narrowed his eyes. “It was me protecting my teammate, partner!”

He moved towards Chin, who was watching the exchange warily. “You okay?” Danny asked, checking on Chin’s arm.

Chin was holding his left shoulder, a bullet clipping him just where the vest stopped its protective cover, blood slowly oozing from between his fingers. He grimaced and nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks.”

Danny glared over at Steve before smiling down at Chin and tapping him on the other shoulder. “No problem. Now, we just need to wait for your cousin to swoop in and save the day.”

Chin grinned with a hint of pride. “She’ll be here right about…”

He was unable to finish the sentence when gun fire erupted again, but this time, it came from behind the bad guys.

The three Five-0 men bolted from behind the box and started firing in earnest.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Chin was sitting on the back of an ambulance getting his wound tended to while Kono hovered worriedly. Danny stood a few feet away, glaring at his partner, who was over by a blue and white, speaking with one of the cops first on scene.

“He gonna live?” Danny asked as Brian patched Chin up.

Brian grinned and nodded. “Yep, he’ll live.”

Chin glanced up at Kono, grinning. “You did good, Cuz,” Chin praised.

“Yeah, I did kick some ass, didn’t I?”

“That you did. I’m really proud of you.”

Kono beamed.

Danny looked around. “Where’s that lovely wife of yours?”

Brian frowned. “She had the early shift this morning, so she’s probably at home asleep.”

“At home, huh?” Danny stated slyly. “What’s your address again?”

“Stay away from my wife!” Brian scowled good-naturedly.

Danny grinned unrepentantly. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“Uh-oh,” Kono said as she noticed their boss stalking over to the ambulance. All four people looked up to see a very pissed off SEAL stomping their way; and his eyes were glaring directly at Danny.

“Great,” Danny muttered. He glanced at Chin and Kono. “Tell my parents I love them.” It was a phrase that Danny said to Chin and Kono often when Steve was on a rampage and wanted to chew Danny a new one. Usually Kono, and sometimes Chin, would give him crap or say something smart-assed about the argument that was about to start. However, this time, Chin and Kono remained silent.

This might get bad.

“Can I talk to you a second?” Steve asked low and quiet, directing his question at his partner.

Danny sighed and gestured for Steve to precede him.

Once they were a few yards away, Steve stood up to his full height and crossed his arms menacingly over his chest. Whether he was trying to intimidate Danny or not, it wasn’t working. It never did. Danny just stared passively up at his partner, one eyebrow arched in waiting.

They stared each other down for several long seconds before Danny’s impatience got the better of him.

“What?”

“That was an unnecessary risk you took back there,” Steve growled.

Danny shrugged his left shoulder. “Nothing you wouldn’t have done.” After a beat, Danny continued. “Besides, it wasn’t unnecessary.”

Steve uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, glaring down at his partner. “Like hell it wasn’t!”

Danny’s arms stretched out wide. “What the fuck was I supposed to do? Let Chin get shot again? I was protecting him the only way I knew how. And it worked, so what the hell is your problem?”

Steve practically deflated, anger draining out of him in an instant. “You could have been hurt,” Steve mumbled dejectedly. He was shaking minutely; something only someone who knew him well would notice.

Danny noticed.

Unfortunately, with everything that had happened in the last day, it still didn’t stop Danny from getting angry and snapping, “What do you care anyway?” He was in pain from his slam against the wall and knew he probably popped a few stitches as he could feel blood slowly ooze from the wound. He just hoped it hadn’t soaked through the bandage yet.

Steve’s eyes widened in shock before anger returned in full force. “What the hell does that mean? Of course I care!”

“Whatever,” Danny mumbled tiredly and turned to walk away. He was not in the mood to get into this with Steve. Besides, this certainly wasn’t the place.

He was two steps away when he felt himself whipped around and hazel eyes blazing daggers at him. “Don’t you fucking ‘whatever’ me, god damn it. Tell me what the hell that means!”

It was as if all noise stopped. Danny couldn’t hear the sounds of the squad cars, the wind, the murmur of the cops, nothing. His eyes narrowed and he took a step towards Steve, not even noticing how his partner took a step back. Arms loose at his sides, no general flailing of hands, Danny leaned into his partner space and hissed, “We are not going to discuss this here, Commander.” Danny took no satisfaction in seeing his partner swallow hard before turning around and moving back to the ambulance.

“He good to go?” Danny asked Brian as he gestured to Chin who was standing next to Kono, both with wide eyes.

“Uh, ye-eah,” Brian stammered. “He’ll be fine.”

“Great! Let’s go!” Danny led the way to Kono’s car and crawled in the back seat. He resolutely did not look back at his partner still standing in the middle of the road, shocked expression still plastered on his face.

 

The ride back to HQ was extremely quiet: no griping from Danny, no snarking remarks from Kono, no heavily put upon sighs from Chin. As Kono parked, Danny said, “No,” as he got out of Kono’s car.

The cousins looked at each other and shrugged before getting out themselves. Just as Chin stepped out, Danny pushed Chin back into the passenger’s seat. “No.” He looked over at Kono. “Take him home.”

“But…” Chin began to protest.

“No buts. I’ll see you both tomorrow. In the meantime, you,” Danny pointed to Chin, “get some rest. Got it?”

Kono smiled her thanks over the roof of the car and got back into the driver’s side.

Chin looked up at Danny through the window. He was about to protest again, when a flash of color on Danny’s right side caught his attention. “You okay, brah?” He pointed to the red stain on Danny’s shirt.

Danny looked down and mentally cursed. Schooling his features, he smiled down at Chin. “You bled all over me, man!”

Chin continued to frown. “I don’t…”

Danny tapped the roof and said to Kono, “Get him outta here.” He turned and made his way towards the building.

“Off we go!” Kono stated and tore out of the parking lot, Chin still frowning next to her.

 

Danny was thankful Steve had not made it back to HQ yet. He was in no mood to deal with his partner at the moment and he wanted to check on the wound, since it was clear that he had popped some stitches.

After grabbing a clean shirt from his office, he went into the restroom and grabbed the first-aid kit from under the sink. It was put together by Steve, so it was probably as well equipped if not more so than the one he’d seen Brian and Jenna use.

Peeling off the bloody bandage, he wiped up the oozing blood. He noted that the wound was pretty red around the edges and a few areas looked like it was leaking pus. Plus, it hurt much worse than a few hours ago, but he waved that off as having just been slammed into a metal box. He could hear movement outside and knew that Steve must have just arrived. Knowing he didn’t have too much time, he dispensed with everything but a couple of butterfly bandages. He decided he would fix it up better when he got home and carefully applied two butterflies to the wound, slapping on a clean bandage. He quickly put the kit to rights, donned his new shirt, and left the bathroom, ready (but not really) to deal with his partner.

Danny barely made it three steps past Steve’s office when the door flung open, Steve looming in the doorway.

Steve opened and closed his mouth several times; anger alternating with hurt and resignation. Danny stepped back to lean against the wall, arms folded across his chest, waiting.

Finally, “I care, Danny.”

Danny dropped his chin to his chest as he dropped his arms. He had mentally prepared himself for a knock-down-drag-out fight and now Steve was playing nice. Damn it. Sighing, Danny replied, “I know, Steve. I’m sorry I said that.”

“I was just worried,” Steve said, taking a tentative step towards Danny.

“I know that, too.” He looked up into the sad eyes of his partner and sighed again. “C’mere.”

Steve took the last two steps towards his partner with lightning speed and wrapped his arms around Danny’s shoulders, burying his face against Danny’s neck.

“You scared me, is all,” Steve mumbled against Danny’s throat.

Danny grimaced slightly as he raised his arms up to wrap around Steve’s back. The wound on his side was really hurting now. He leaned his forehead against Steve’s collarbone and kissed the shirt beneath his lips.

“I know. I’m sorry,” he answered softly.

After another moment, they both leaned back and Steve placed a soft kiss on Danny’s forehead.

Steve noted the slight sweat on Danny’s brow. “Hot, Danno?”

Danny grinned lecherously. “Why, yes I am. Thank you.”

Steve rolled his eyes as he pulled back, lightly grasping Danny’s left arm, tugging him towards the doors. “Dinner. My house. And me for dessert.”

Danny grinned, but swallowed hard as the thought of food kind of nauseated him at the moment. He followed Steve out of the building towards the Camaro. “My favorite!”

 

Once they got to Steve’s house, Steve bee-lined it for the kitchen. “Steaks okay?” Steve yelled back as Danny made his way upstairs and to the shower.

“Perfect!” Danny answered, swallowing a knot of bile in his throat.

He had felt sicker the closer to Steve’s house they got and he was starting to feel hot and a bit dizzy. He was hoping the damned wound wasn’t infected again and that a hot shower would make him feel a bit better. Plus, there should be some pain pills somewhere in Steve’s medicine cabinet. It should be enough to take the edge off until after dinner. He should be able to beg off staying the night, swing by the hospital on the way home and be better by tomorrow.

Too bad his body had other plans.

 

Steve rummaged around in the kitchen for a few minutes and took the necessary ingredients outside to the lanai. He fired up the grill, knowing that Danny would be about twenty minutes in the shower and trying to time it so everything would be ready when Danny came down. He was tempted to join Danny, but decided against it. Otherwise, they would never eat and Steve was really hungry… for food, not just his best friend.

He put the foil-wrapped baked potatoes on the grill and realized that he’d forgotten the beer, so he went back to the kitchen to grab a six pack of Longboards, popping the top of one of them as he went back outside.

Steve tended to get lost in thought when he was in his backyard and realized with a jolt that he’d been out there for over forty-five minutes, staring at the ocean. He ran to the grill and grabbed the potatoes, hoping they weren’t over-cooked and was about to put the steaks on when he noticed that Danny hadn’t joined him yet.

Frowning, he made his way inside and up the stairs to his room. “Hey Danny?” He yelled. “You drown in there?” It wasn’t until his got closer to his room that he realized the shower wasn’t running.

He pushed open the door and found Danny curled up on his bed, back towards the door. “Taking a nap, partner?” Steve asked before noticing Danny’s body shaking slightly. “Danny?” Steve stepped up to the bed and knelt on the mattress, intent on waking Danny in his own special way. However, when the pressure on the bed caused Danny’s body to move, Danny moaned, and not in the good way.

“Danny?!” Steve shouted, crawling over his partner.

“S-Steve?” Danny replied, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

Steve reached out and grimaced at the heat that radiated off Danny’s skin. “Danny, what is it?” His voice shook a bit. Danny seemed fine not even an hour ago and now this!

“H-hospit-al,” Danny managed to reply through gritted teeth.

“Danny?”

“Please!”

“Okay, okay.” Steve pulled out his phone and dialed 911 while keeping his other hand on Danny’s shoulder. “They’re coming, Danny. They’re coming.” He saw Danny’s body relax just a fraction. “Danny? What is it? What’s wrong?”

He ran his hands over Danny’s body, hoping to find some reason for his partner’s pain. When his hands roamed over Danny’s right side, Danny moaned in pain. Steve carefully lifted Danny’s shirt and gasped at the blood-soaked gauze. “Holy shit! What the hell?!”

Danny’s pain-glazed eyes looked at Steve imploringly. “’M sorry.”

“Danny! When did this… What… Danny! My god!”

“’M sorry,” Danny whispered again. “I didn’t think…”

“When did this happen?” Steve interrupted him, reaching out to peel the soiled bandage off.

Danny hissed in pain. “Y-yester-day.”

Steve froze and stared down at Danny. “Yesterday?!”

Danny nodded.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Steve asked in confusion. Once the gauze was off, Steve grimaced at the now pus-oozing wound. “Shit! You have one hell of an infection here.” Knowing he really couldn’t do anything about it, he left it to the air and stared down at his partner.

“Danny,” Steve squeezed Danny’s hand. When Danny looked up at him, Steve continued, voice worried, but calm. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t t-think it was a b-big deal.”

Steve closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them and staring down at Danny, Steve said, “You getting hurt is a big deal, Danny.”

Danny’s eyebrows furrowed. “Since when?”

Steve jerked his head up. “Since always!”

Danny managed to roll his fever-glazed eyes, anger temporarily overriding his pain. “Didn’t seem like a big deal when you got me shot that first day.”

Steve sighed. “Are we going to go over this again? I said I was sorry.”

Danny swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of pain rolled through him. Steve was still holding Danny’s hand and grimaced as Danny’s fingers crushed his own.

“Danny!”

Once the pain passed, Danny looked back up at Steve. “It also wasn’t a big deal when I messed up my knee. I believe your words were ‘boo-boo’. Then there was the time I cracked my skull open and you shrugged that off as an ‘owwie’. The concussion was a ‘Suck it up Danno’. The dislocated wrist was a ‘Deal with it Danno’.” Danny closed his eyes, too tired to deal with all of this at the moment. “It’s just easier to not say anything. That way, you can’t mock me.”

Steve stared down at Danny, shocked to hear that Danny felt that way. Shocked too that he had made Danny feel that way.

He was jolted from his self-recrimination by a pounding of the door.

The ambulance had arrived.

 

Twenty minutes later found Steve pacing in the waiting room, awaiting word on his partner. His worry on Danny’s condition over-rode his need to analyze everything that Danny had told him at the house.

 

Kono and Chin materialized fifteen minutes later.

“Hey boss,” Kono said softly, stepping in Steve’s pacing path.

Almost running into her, Steve jerked to a stop and stared with confused hazel eyes at his teammate.

Chin took Steve’s arm and guided him to a chair. “Hey brah, howzit?”

The second Steve sat down, he deflated like a pinned balloon, dropping his face into his palms. “How’d you guys even…?”

Kono nudged Steve’s shoulder with her own. “We have a cousin that works here.”

Steve turned tired eyes towards the rookie. “Of course you do.” He tried to give her a smile, but it barely curved the corner of his lips and didn’t even come close to reaching his eyes.

“What happened?” Chin asked.

Steve sighed and collapsed back in his chair. “Apparently, Danny was knifed yesterday.”

Kono and Chin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What?!” Kono exclaimed. “When? Why didn’t he say anything?”

Steve was ready to answer until Kono asked the last question and he clamped his mouth shut. It was the reason they were here after all.

“Steve?” Chin spoke up.

Sighing, Steve scrubbed his hands over his face. “It was the bust yesterday.”

“I thought he just tweaked his knee again,” Kono said quietly.

“So did I,” Steve answered. “But I guess he also got in the way of a very large knife.”

The three teammates were quiet before Kono said, “I don’t understand why he didn’t tell us.”

No longer able to remain stationary, Steve jumped up and began pacing again. The silence in the room was becoming oppressive before Steve came to a halt next to the door and turned to the cousins. “It’s my fault.”

Chin frowned and glanced at Kono. “How do you figure, brah?”

“He said was tired of me giving him shit about his injuries, so he didn’t say anything.”

Kono gave a confused frown while Chin nodded pensively. “Ah.”

Kono turned to Chin. “You understand this?” Steve, too, looked at Chin in puzzlement.

Chin looked up at Kono before turning to Steve. “You do tend to make light of Danny’s injuries, boss.”

Steve opened and closed his mouth a few times like a landed fish. He wanted so much to deny the claim, but knew that it was true; especially if other people saw it, too.

“That’s probably why he sent you home today,” Kono said to her cousin, now understanding Danny being so adamant for Chin to go home and rest.

“Probably,” Chin answered.

Steve was staring down at his other two teammates. “Am I that bad?”

They both turned to him.

“You can be with Danny,” Chin answered. “The trick is knowing when it’s real or not. When he’s ranting about being hurt, chances are it’s not all that serious. If he’s quiet, then it’s probably pretty bad.” Steve seemed to be seriously listening, so Chin continued. “You were pretty brutal after he hurt his knee. Sure he complained about it, but he was also more quiet than usual.”

“Yeah,” Kono remembered. “Danny said you were purposely walking faster those first few weeks after he hurt himself. Said you were being more sadistic than normal making him hobble after you with his cane. I heard him complain about it a few times, but then he just stopped. Started popping those pain pills pretty heavily there for awhile.”

Steve rubbed a hand over his eyes and sagged against the doorjamb. A clearing of a throat brought his head up to see Doctor Geer.

“Hey doc,” Steve said. “How is he?”

Doctor Geer came into the room and sat down next to Kono. “Doctor Lin said that Detective Williams came in early this morning for an infected knife wound.”

The three Five-0 members glanced at each other in shock.

“Danny said it was a nose bleed,” Steve said and he sagged down in a chair next to Chin.

“I’m afraid not,” Doctor Geer said. “It’s was infection due to a knife wound on the upper right part of the torso. This morning was mild in comparison to this. Unfortunately, the antibiotics we gave him earlier wasn’t strong enough and didn’t have time to work as he checked himself out AMA this morning. He should have stayed at least a few more hours for the antibiotics to do their job, but…”

“Will he…?” Steve began but couldn’t finish, not wanting to know the answer.

“He’ll be fine, Commander. He just needs to stay here for the next day or so to make sure the antibiotics do their job. And this time, he needs to stay,” Doctor Geer reiterated.

“He will, I promise,” Steve replied. “Can I…”

Doctor Geer rolled his eyes. Saying no to the head of the Governor’s Task Force would be like telling the sun not to rise. “Three doors down on the left.”

Steve smiled, jumping up and disappearing down the hall.

Doctor Geer nodded his head towards Chin’s shoulder. “Everything okay there, Detective?”

Chin nodded. “Yeah, all good.”

“Do you mind if I take a look anyway?”

Chin looked as though he was going to decline the doctor’s offer, but one pointed glare from his little cousin had him capitulating immediately.

“Is there a day that goes by when someone on your team isn’t injured?”

“Nope!” Kono answered cheekily. Turning to Chin, Kono stood. “C’mon, cuz, let’s go see Danny and then we’ll let the doc take a look at you and then I’ll take you home.” She turned to the doctor as he stood to leave. “Thanks, doc! See you in a few.”

He smiled and waved them off and he left the waiting room. He’d be seeing them soon, he was sure.

 

Chin and Kono stood at Danny’s doorway and watched as Steve settled himself on the chair next to Danny’s bed.

“… orry I’ve been such an asshole,” Steve muttered.

Danny tilted his head to look at Steve. “Yeah, but you’re my asshole,” Danny retorted tenderly.

Chin and Kono looked at each other as Chin gently clasped his fingers around Kono’s arm, backing them away from the scene.

“We’ll come back later,” Chin said softly.

“But, Cuz!” Kono wailed, not even trying to be quiet as she was being dragged down the corridor. “You do this every time! It’s the good part! It’s always the good part!”

They didn’t hear Steve and Danny chuckling in the room behind time.

“That girl has an unhealthy fascination with our love life,” Danny mused tiredly.

The two men stared at each other for several minutes, each unsure what to say.

“I’m sorry,” both said at the same time.

Danny quirked his lips up as Steve smiled down at his partner. “I think you said that already,” Danny quipped.

“Yeah, but it bears repeating.”

“Steve…” Danny started but Steve raised his hand.

“Danny, no. This time, I get to talk.”

Danny answered by raising a shocked eyebrow and gestured with his left hand to go on.

“Danny. I am so sorry for giving you the impression that I didn’t care whether or not you get hurt.” Heaving a deep sigh, Steve continued. “I guess it was my stupid assed way of pretending that if your injury was no big deal, then it was no big deal, ya know?”

Danny shook his head, not quite following Steve’s logic. Though whether it was because Steve’s logic was twisted or he was heavily sedated, Danny couldn’t be sure.

Probably both.

Steve sighed his frustration and ran a hand through his hair. “If I pretended your injuries weren’t serious, then you were okay and everything was fine. I didn’t want to think of you being hurt ‘cause that meant you were capable of being hurt and I couldn’t handle it if that were true.” Steve reached out and took Danny’s hand. He kept his gaze locked on their joined hands as he said the next bit. “I love you, Danny, so fucking much, and it scares the hell out of me.”

Danny’s quick in-drawn breath caused Steve to look up. “I was beginning to wonder,” Danny replied quietly.

“What?”

Danny swallowed hard and looked away, unable to say what he was going to say to Steve’s face. Ashamed that he felt this way to begin with. “I… if I was your Detective-With-Benefits.”

Danny heard Steve gasp and felt his hand being squeezed. “Danny, look at me.”

Danny took a deep breath and turned his head, seeing the love in Steve’s eyes for the first time and idly wondering if it had been there all along.

“You were never, ever my ‘anything’ with benefits. I love you way too much for that. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. But, please believe me, that couldn’t be further from the truth.” Steve looked down at their clasped hands. “I’ve lost so much… I can’t stand the thought of losing you, too.” He glanced up at Danny again. “I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise.”

Danny tugged on Steve’s hand, wanting the other man to move closer. Once Steve had settled on the edge of his bed, Danny reached up and curved his left hand around Steve’s neck, bringing him down into a soft kiss.

They broke off a few moments later. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this.”

Steve rested his forehead against Danny’s. “No more secrets, okay?”

Danny nodded his head and closed his eyes. The antibiotics were doing their job and making him very sleepy as well.

Steve moved to stand. “Get some sleep.”

Danny’s eyes snapped open. “Don’t go.” He squeezed Steve’s hand, not releasing him from his grip.

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Steve replied, pulling the chair over with his foot.

“No. Here,” Danny tugged again on Steve’s hand, sliding back on the bed as he did so.

“Danny, we can’t.”

“Why?”

Steve gestured with his free hand. “’Cause it’s not meant for two grown men?”

“We’ve slept on smaller. The couch in your office, for one.”

Steve took a second to concede that point. Shrugging his acquiescence, he sat in the chair, quickly removing his boots and carefully crawling into bed with Danny, trying not to get tangled with the IV line.

Danny snuggled against Steve and rested his head on Steve’s shoulder. Sighing deeply, he allowed his exhaustion to sweep him away, but not before he mumbled, “Love you.”

Steve answered by pulling Danny closer and placing a kiss lightly on Danny’s head. “Love you, too, Danno.”

 

Fin  
March 5, 2011


End file.
